Several of my friends are glued to the TV watching the World Cup Soccer Games. Have you seen any of the games? They certainly run a lot! Was thinking about it this morning and came up with 7 tips guitar players can learn from Soccer.
1. Practice
You know these players have practiced all of their lives. When you spent time with a sport, or playing and instrument, you become a better player/musician. Like these Soccer players, guitarists can practice.
2. Love Playing
They got great by loving the sport. Like them, we can love playing the guitar. We can have a joy and passion learning to play this wonderful instrument. When you love something, it’s fun to spend time doing it. When you are playing worship songs, don’t you just LOVE expressing how much you appreciate our God?
3. Study To Improve Your Skills
To reach the level of playing they have, you know they have studied the best players and learned new tricks of the trade. Learning from guitar teachers will help you avoid some bad technique that can slow you up or injure your hands. Yeah, it’s not uncommon to hear people having pain playing their guitar.
4. Play Their Best On Stage
During the game, they are giving their all. When performing, we can play our best. When they fall, they just get up. If we mess up, don’t stop. Keep playing. People don’t notice any mistakes unless you make a big deal about it.
5. Keep Your Eyes On The Ball
Everyone playing on the field is focusing on where the ball is on the field. As a Christian, in whatever we do, we are to focus our attention on Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. We can have our eyes fixed on Christ even while playing the guitar. For years I used to play background music at parties, and spent the entire time worshiping our Awesome God.
In the 5th Century Patrick was kidnapped from his home in Great Britain. He was a slave in Ireland for 6 years. He was born into a Christian family, but experienced a closer relationship to God in Ireland. He escaped and later became came back to preach Christ to the Irish pagans.
We have access to our Creator God 24/7, because of the cross. Before Christ, only the high priest could go into the most sacred place once a year. This holiday is still observed and is called Yam Kipper. It’s the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.
Driving home yesterday, I saw nearly a dozen workers laying HUGE bricks between steel enforcements on the freeway overpass. Each brick was very heavy, judging by how difficult it was for them to carry. I usually don’t think about the individual people who make our high rise buildings and other types of construction.